Data as of .
SPYI vs XYLD: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year SPYI paid 12.1% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 11.0%, though XYLD returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: XYLD scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 161 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SPYI and XYLD hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | SPYI | XYLD |
|---|---|---|
| Linde PLC | 0.37% | 0.33% |
| Seagate Technology Holdings PL | 0.32% | 0.29% |
| Eaton Corp PLC | 0.26% | 0.25% |
| Chubb Ltd | 0.19% | 0.18% |
| Medtronic PLC | 0.16% | 0.18% |
| Trane Technologies PLC | 0.17% | 0.15% |
| Johnson Controls International | 0.14% | 0.14% |
| Accenture PLC | 0.12% | 0.17% |
| Aon PLC | 0.11% | 0.10% |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd | 0.12% | 0.10% |
| TE Connectivity PLC | 0.09% | 0.10% |
| CRH PLC | 0.11% | 0.09% |
| Only in SPYI | Only in XYLD |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp 7.57% | NVIDIA CORP 8.01% |
| Apple Inc 6.59% | APPLE INC 7.39% |
| Microsoft Corp 4.32% | MICROSOFT CORP 5.58% |
| Amazon.com Inc 3.65% | AMAZON.COM INC 3.81% |
| Alphabet Inc 3.28% | ALPHABET INC-CL A 3.01% |
| Broadcom Inc 2.80% | BROADCOM INC 2.60% |
| Alphabet Inc 2.61% | ALPHABET INC-CL C 2.40% |
| Micron Technology Inc 1.99% | META PLATFORMS INC 2.16% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 11, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPYI | XYLD | SPYI | XYLD | SPYI | XYLD | |
| 3 months | +4.0% | +5.0% | 3.0% | 2.6% | +0.7 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +12.6% | +10.5% | 6.3% | 5.5% | −3.4 pts | −5.1 pts |
| 1 year | +15.8% | +17.9% | 12.1% | 11.0% | −1.7 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 3 years | +56.5% | +43.2% | 37.4% | 32.9% | −21.3 pts | −32.8 pts |
| Since launch | +76.9% | +190.8% | 49.2% | 112.9% | −25.6 pts | −133.7 pts |
| SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF Covered call on ACWI, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | NEOS | Global X |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | All-country world (ACWI) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 12.2% | 9.0% |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.60% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 12.1% | 11.0% |
| Price change, 1 year | +2.6% | +5.9% |
| Total return, 1 year | +15.8% | +17.9% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +17.5% | +19.1% |
| Ahead or behind | −1.7 pts | −1.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 93% | 93% |
| Age | 1473 days | 4827 days |
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.7 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
XYLD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, XYLD paid 11.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.9%. All-country world (ACWI) returned +19.1% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.0%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Aug 27, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, SPYI or XYLD?
- Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and XYLD paid 11.0%, so SPYI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, SPYI or XYLD?
- With every distribution reinvested, SPYI returned +15.8% and XYLD returned +17.9% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so XYLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, SPYI or XYLD?
- SPYI charges 0.68% a year and XYLD charges 0.60%, so XYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPYI against XYLD, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/spyi-vs-xyld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.